What is facial massage?
Self face-massage is amazing - but nothing can beat the deep relaxation of a professional treatment
A lot is claimed of face massage…
It can lift your face, smooth away wrinkles, wave a magic wand over undereye bags…. Instagram and TikTok before-and-afters are spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that facial massage influencers are often plagued with accusations of secret fillers.
So what is the truth about face massage? Whenever I’m regularly massaging my own face, using my hands, gua sha or other tools I look better – fresher, brighter, distinctly less droopy. I agree that too-good-to-be-true claims are usually untruthful, but facial massage has incredible benefits all the same.
A number of studies, most limited by small sample sizes, have measured physical benefits after facial massage - lifting, tightening, reduction of anxiety/negative mood, etc. The brighter, tighter, happier people I see leaving my studio after face massage strongly reflect these results.
What to expect from a face massage…
My facial treatment draws mainly on reflexology, acupressure, deep tissue massage and lymphatic drainage.
A hot towel cleanse removes any oil or makeup before we melt away tension from your neck and shoulders. I work across your decolletage, which carries deep tension, and where muscle shortening can cause postural issues.
Moving to the face, hypnotic reflexology lulls your mind and body into deep relaxation, encouraging your muscles to release. Throughout the treatment I work with lymphatic drainage, reducing eye bags, and help brighten and sculpt.
In the middle, we get to the much deeper work. Here, I squish, roll, knuckle and knead the face, working out adhesions and areas of tension. I give extra time to areas of high tension, especially around the jaw. Studies suggest massage is brilliant for tooth grinding and jaw tension. This deep tissue section is where I will also pinch and tap (or ‘whip’) your facial muscles to tone them and lift your face.
Towards the end I return to any areas that I felt needed extra TLC, before moving back to the soothing facial reflexology and acupressure.
